Overview

Getting Started

Using Screenbar

Screenbar combines a taskbar with virtual desktop management, allowing you to manage multiple desktops from the taskbar. Since Screenbar is a LiteStep module, it is highly configurable and different themes may customize it to look and behave differently. This section describes how to use Screenbar with the default configuration and theme, which other themes should try to follow closely.

Windows on the taskbar will be arranged and grouped according to the desktop they're on. To switch to a desktop, click on it. This will hide all of the windows on the current desktop and show the windows on that desktop. To move windows between desktops, drag and drop them on the taskbar. To create a new desk, drag a task to an empty area on the taskbar.

Alternatively, you can use hotkeys to manipulate desktops. The file screenbar_hotkeys.rc defines a set of hotkeys which all themes that use Screenbar should include. These hotkeys are:

Win+[1-9] Switch to the numbered desktop (Win+0 is desk ten).
Win+Left Switch to previous desktop.
Win+Right Switch to next desktop.
Win+Down Merge current desktop with previous desktop.
Win+Shift+Left Move current application to previous desktop.
Win+Shift+Right Move current application to next desktop.
Win+Shift+Up Move current application to a new desktop at the beginning of the list.
Win+Shift+Down Move current application to a new desktop at the end of the list.
Win+Ctrl+Left Move this desk earlier in the list of desktops
Win+Ctrl+Right Move this desk later in the list of desktops
Win+Ctrl+Down Combine all desktops into one (gather)

Adding Screenbar to a Theme

To add Screenbar to your Litestep theme, put these lines in your theme.rc file:

  *NetLoadModule xpaintclass-1.0.dll
  *NetLoadModule screenbar.dll

XPaintClass is a graphics library which is required for Screenbar and for many other modules, and which you should download separately if you don't already have it. Be sure to use the newest version, as older versions may have bugs that could make your theme unstable. Screenbar has a built-in default configuration, so it should function immediately; by default, it will create a panel across the bottom of each monitor. Note that since Screenbar manages virtual desktops, it's a VWM, and you can't have more than one VWM module loaded at a time; be sure to disable any other VWM modules such as vwm2 or rabidvwm.